St Helens Betfred Challenge Cup semi-final against Hull FC has now been confirmed to take place at Leigh Sports Village on Saturday June 5, kicking off at 2.30pm live on BBC One.
Details have also been confirmed for the Semi Finals of the Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup on May 22, and the triple header combining the Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup Final and the men’s Betfred Challenge Cup Semi Finals on June 5.
The Semi Finals of the Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup, featuring our Saints Women who will face Leeds Rhinos Women (3pm), will be played at the LNER Stadium in York, with both games streamed by BBC Sport on Red Button and iplayer – and highlights to be shown on Sky Sports the following Monday. No tickets will be sold for these fixtures at the request of the stadium authorities, although a limited number of passes will be made available to the four competing teams.
The first Semi Final will see York City Knights play Castleford Tigers at 12.30pm followed at 3pm by St Helens against Cup holders Leeds Rhinos.
The Final of the Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup will be played at the Leigh Sports Village on Saturday June 5, kicking off at 11.15am, with live coverage on BBC2 – a first for Women’s Rugby League.
That is the first part of a triple header, which continues with the Semi Finals of the Betfred Challenge Cup, with all three games shown live on the BBC.
The Hull FC versus St Helens Semi Final will be shown on BBC One, kicking off at 2.30pm with coverage starting at 2.00pm.
The Castleford versus Warrington Semi Final will be shown on BBC Two, kicking off at 5.00pm with coverage starting at 4.30pm.
Covid restrictions mean that capacity at Leigh Sports Village will be severely limited by the Covid 19 restrictions.
Each of the four Betfred Challenge Cup Semi Finalists will be given an initial allocation of approximately 600 tickets.
The club will release further details of how these tickets will be allocated in due course. Tickets will only be available to 2021 members.
Mark Foster, the RFL’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “After the whole Betfred Challenge Cup competition was played behind closed doors in 2020, this does represent a step in the right direction – with every reason to be hopeful of a much bigger crowd at Wembley on July 17 for the Final.
“For Women’s Rugby League, live coverage on BBC Two of the Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup Final represents another significant milestone – and we are also delighted to be able to confirm BBC coverage of the Semi Final double header at the LNER Stadium in York.”
“We know the restrictions on capacity at Leigh Sports Village are going to mean frustration and disappointment for some who would want to support their teams in person.
“We share that frustration, but this event was scheduled over six months ago and it became clear recently, that while it is great that fans would be allowed inside the stadium, it was going to be an event with unique challenges, involving six teams playing at the same stadium in the period between the partial reopening of stadiums to fans in Step 3 of the Government Roadmap out of Lockdown, and the further easing in Step 4 later in June. We are grateful to Leigh Sports Village and the four Semi-Finalists for the way that they have worked with us to get to this stage and to the BBC for their live coverage of all 3 games meaning that those fans who are unable to attend in person at the stadium can still watch the game live on TV.”
Tickets are on sale now for the Betfred Challenge Cup Final at Wembley on Sat 17 July (KO 3pm). Limited tickets are remaining with Categories 1-4 already sold out, so book now at eticketing.co.uk/rugbyleague.
